Foreigners involved in street fights or in shopping complex brawls in Kuwait will be deported immediately, a senior official at the interior ministry said.

“There is now an inclination to deport any foreigner involved in fights and in disrupting public order in public places, particularly in shopping complexes,” he said. “The interior ministry has deported seven Gulf nationals following their involvement in a fight at the Avenues shopping mall during Eid,” Adel Al Hashah, the director of public relations, said in remarks published by local daily Al Seyassah on Wednesday.

The decision to force the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens to leave Kuwait was based on their violation of the law, disruption of the order at the mall, causing terror and panic and assaulting security staff, he added.

“We believe that deportations will help limit the number of brawls that happen in the country, especially at malls. The laws and regulations will be applied fully without complacency or bias and the police stations are open to all, citizens and residents to report any case,” he said.

Citizens from the GCC do not need a visa to enter Kuwait, but the deportees will not be allowed into the country.

The GCC, founded in 1981, groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last week, Eid festivities at Kuwait’s largest shopping mall were marred for some time when a fight between visitors broke out. Video clips of the altercations in which some security men were involved, went viral on the Net.

Interior Ministry Undersecretary Sulaiman Al Fahad said that disciplinary action would be taken against security men who failed to behave according to the ministry standards.

“Security work is an honour and the ministry will not hesitate to take strict measures, including dismissal, against anyone who is not up to the standards,” he said.